Rotary wing aircraft are capable of performing highly steep approaches unsuitable for fixed wing aircraft. It is important for a pilot to closely monitor the vertical speed of the rotary wing aircraft during a highly steep approach. One reason for this is the potential occurrence of a so-called “Vortex Ring State” condition or “settling with power,” which can cause a sudden and rapid increase in the downward vertical speed of the aircraft. A Vortex Ring State (VRS) condition occurs when the main rotor of the rotary wing aircraft is enveloped by disturbed air, which significantly diminishes the ability of the aircraft to generate lift. An unsafe scenario can thus result if the rotary wing aircraft is in relatively close proximity to ground level and the pilot is afforded little time to recover from the VRS condition. Considerable efforts have been expended to develop improved flight deck display systems and approach guidance systems (e.g., Localizer Performance with Vertical Guidance systems) to assist pilots in the performance of steep approaches. However, even with such systems in place, pilots of rotary wing aircraft continue to encounter VRS conditions during highly steep approaches, which are increasingly required to satisfy noise abatement rules, to permit landing in dense urban areas, and for other reasons.
There thus exists an ongoing need to provide improved systems and methods for enhancing pilot awareness of excessive vertical speeds during steep approaches of rotary wing aircraft. It is particularly desirable to provide flight deck display systems capable of generating prominent and intuitive visual warnings alerting a pilot to excessive vertical speeds during a steep approach of a rotary wing aircraft and, therefore, to the possible occurrence of a VRS condition during the approach. Other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent Detailed Description and the appended Claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings and the foregoing Background.